Long-Term Care and Couples: Who Pays?

By

Kelly Greene

Apr 2, 2012 12:54 pm ET

Associated Press

Medicaid is tightening up its restrictions for families hoping to use it to help pay long-term-care costs. Some states no longer let older adults buy annuities and then exclude those assets when they apply for financial assistance. Others are more aggressively recovering from the estates of people whose care costs were paid by Medicaid.

But there’s another layer of rules for families in which the person hoping to get government help paying for long-term care has a spouse who is still living independently. States are treating such “well” spouses in dramatically different ways.

The limit in Texas, for example, is based on monthly income that could be generated using current interest rates. At the moment, the well spouse could hold on to a generous $1.2 million, says John Ross IV, a lawyer in Texarkana, Texas, who specializes in elder-law issues. By contrast, Arkansas has stuck with the federal maximum of about $113,000.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.